Chew Chor Meng once joined a gang fight and decided to change his ways after what he saw

It may not look like it but the happy-go-lucky Chew Chor Meng has a pretty dark and rough childhood.

Not only did he come from a single-parent family (his dad died when he was young), he grew up poor and even fell in with the bad crowd once. However, a single encounter at a gang fight, fortunately, opened his eyes to the life that awaited him had he continued down that path.

In the latest episode of meWATCH's talkshow Hear U Out, the 51-year-old told local host Quan Yi Fong that he hung around the unruly kids during his school days and what he witnessed during his time with them. It was not mentioned how old he was at that time. 

"I even joined them for a gang fight once. They said I was fat and wasn't that good at fighting so they asked me to act as the lookout," he recalled.

"I was relieved. I stood there and watched them fight and they even had box cutters. I thought, 'This won't do.' At that moment, I realised that I would become like them if I carried on this way. So I decided to change my ways."

Thankfully, Chor Meng didn't have to go through this change alone. He had really good teachers and a supportive principal in primary school who talked to him and guided him.

The principal, who knew that he had abysmal grades in school, took it upon himself to give the young boy some one-to-one after-school remedial lessons.

Chor Meng said: "I was terrible at Science and Maths. I had to go to his office at 6.30pm every day for one-on-one tutoring."

When Yi Fong pointed out that his principal could tell that the actor wasn't a bad kid, Chor Meng deadpanned: "I'm good at heart. I'm actually very well-behaved. Can't you tell from my face?"

ALSO READ: Alien Huang's strong connection to Singapore: Pan Lingling shares video of Alien calling Chew Chor Meng 'Pa'

The actor added that his principal went the extra mile for every student and conducted one-to-one tutoring for others as well.

"To him, every student is a good student. He believed that everyone was born good. He believed that we should be nurtured. He never gave up. There were three or four classmates whom he taught personally. I wasn't the only one. I'm still very grateful to him today."

For Chor Meng, he believed that without the guidance of his principal and teachers, he would not be the man he is today.

bryanlim@asiaone.com